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Whether you’re worried about cyber thieves or competitive spies, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) can help secure communications that happen on your company network. There are a lot of providers on the market, and they’re not all cut from the same cloth, so our experts dive in to bring you the most secure and affordable solutions. We’ve tried to put everything in layman’s terms, but if you’re confused about anything, don’t hesitate to leave us a comment.
Article Overview
- What Is A VPN?
- VPN Benefits For Companies
- Top 3 VPNs For Small Businesses
- Comparison Table
- Other Best VPN Reviews
- VPN Terminologies Explained
- Personal vs Business VPN
- Best Remote Desktop Management Service
What Is A VPN Service?
A VPN service creates a secure, encrypted connection, removing most traceable aspects from logins and providing a layer of security from your host network. From a business standpoint, they can be an incredibly useful security asset for remote workers and employees working from home or abroad, so they can access your company networks without compromising your servers or data.
How Do VPNs Work?
The internet-enabled device you are using (smartphone, laptop, etc.) must have a VPN app or software loaded onto it. The VPN software connects your device to the VPN server, which encrypts your connection to the internet, preventing your data from being accessed during transit.
Once you’re connected, all of your online activity gets sent through the VPN connection (from online banking to browsing the news or watching a movie). Your data shows up to the internet service provider as coming from the VPN’s IP address and not from your computer and location. Without a VPN, your data and location are potentially exposed.
Top 5 Benefits Of Adding A VPN To Your Business
Most personal VPNs have account and device limitations that can’t satisfy the needs of small businesses. Instead, going with a business-specific VPN gives you and your employees specific benefits:
- Server reliability: Most business VPN solutions issue your company a dedicated server, so you don’t have to rely on the public servers personal VPNs provide. This gives you higher speeds and greater reliability.
- Dedicated IP address: VPN business services also give you a dedicated IP address so your employees can access your server from all over the world.
- Single account for many devices: Personal VPN accounts limit you to 5 or fewer simultaneous devices on one account. Business VPNs allow everyone on your network to connect at once under the same account.
- Administration: Many business VPN solutions offer admin tools that allow you to manage all of your users’ connections and settings company-wide rather than by device.
- 24/7 tech support: Nearly all business VPNs provide 24/7 tech support, and many give you a dedicated account manager. This support can be invaluable during your initial setup and if you run into connection problems.
Why A VPN Is Critical For Remote Work
The pandemic kept a lot of workers home and permanently changed how companies do business. The proliferation of unsecured remote work may open your company up to unwelcome data breaches and security concerns s. Protect your workforce’s systems and data with a VPN service that encrypts files and locks down your valuable information.
Top 3 VPN Services For Small Businesses
VPN terms can be confusing, for sure. See our terminology guide if you don’t understand any of the terms we refer to in our reviews and comparison table.
Winner: Perimeter 81 Next Gen Business VPN Review
Powered by SaferVPN, Perimeter 81 Next Gen Business VPN is designed specifically for small businesses. It gives you the ideal solution if you have employees working on- and off-site and using multiple devices.
This service offers dedicated IPs, on-demand servers and the best VPN admin management tools we’ve seen. It also provides single sign-on, native applications that are compatible with Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android and Chrome.
The team behind SafterVPN and Perimeter 81 gets amazing user reviews for their expert and speedy tech support. On top of that, you get a reasonable price point and reliable performance.
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Pricing
Perimeter 81 provides a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- $10 per month per team member
What Can You Do With Perimeter 81?
See how Perimeter 81’s service can help you manage your company’s VPN usage.
Runner-Up: NordVPN For Business Review
NordVPN is one of the best VPNs for personal use, but this service also provides an excellent solution geared toward small- to medium-sized businesses. With military-grade encryption, double data encryption and a strict no-log policy, NordVPN gives you superior security for all of your employees over all devices.
Each VPN account gets a dedicated IP address, and your business can also get a dedicated small business VPN server for internal use. You can manage all your VPN user licenses from a single administrator account, but you also get a NordVPN account manager and fantastic tech support.
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Pricing
- Contact NordVPN for a price quote
3rd Place: VyprVPN For Business Review
VyprVPN is a well-established VPN service with an excellent reputation for reliability and speed. VyperVPN’s parent company, Golden Frog, owns and manages all of its 700+ servers and also offers added security measures.
This service gives you a NAT firewall and its proprietary Chameleon encryption technology that scrambles the metadata to prevent deep packet inspection (DPI) and VPN blocking. VyprVPN’s website, however, lacks some specifics about what’s included in its business VPN services.
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Pricing
VyprVPN offers businesses a 3-day free trial period.
- VyprVPN for Business: starts at $299 per year
- VyprVPN for Business Cloud: starts at $399 per year
Comparison Table
1st Place: Perimeter 81 | 2nd Place: NordVPN | 3rd Place: VyprVPN | Hotspot Shield VPN | Torguard | |
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Lowest Annual Price | $120 per user | Contact NordVPN | Starts at $299 | $240 (up to 20 devices) |
$828 (includes 10 users) |
Free Trial | 3 days | 7 days | |||
Dedicated IP Address | |||||
Dedicated Server | With custom plans | ||||
Admin Tools | |||||
Dedicated Account Manager | |||||
Customer Support | 24/7/365 live chat, email | 24/7 priority support | 24/7/365 via live chat, email | 24/7 priority support | 24/7/365 via live chat, email, ticket |
Unlimited Bandwidth | |||||
No User Traffic Logs | |||||
Encryption Level | 256-bit | 2048-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
NAT Firewall | |||||
Kill Switch | |||||
Company Location | Israel | Panama | Switzerland | U.S. | U.S. |
Number of Servers | 700+ | 5,000+ | 700+ | 2,500 | 3,000+ |
Number of Countries | 34 | 60+ | 64+ | 25 | 50+ |
Server Location Choice | |||||
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PPTP Protocol | |||||
OpenVPN | |||||
L2TP/IPSec | |||||
IKEv2/IPSec | |||||
SSTP | |||||
Supports Torrent/P2P | Limited | Unlisted | |||
SOCKS | |||||
1st Place: Perimeter 81 | 2nd Place: NordVPN | 3rd Place: VyprVPN | Hotspot Shield VPN | Torguard |
What About Hotspot Shield And Torguard?
While these two didn’t make our top picks this year, they may offer a feature that suits your unique business needs, so we encourage you to check them out!
Hotspot Shield For Business Review
Hotspot Shield for Business could be a good choice for small businesses on a tight budget. With military-grade encryption, 2,500 servers globally, speed and reliability, this service covers the basics at an affordable price. But Hotspot Shield has its limitations compared to other business solutions.
First, one account only covers 20 devices — a deal breaker if you have a sizeable team. Hotspot Shield also doesn’t issue dedicated IP addresses, a feature you’ll find with most VPN solutions for small businesses. Still, its low pricing could fit the bill for a smaller team.
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Pricing
- $39.99 month-to-month
- $29.99 when you pay for 6 months upfront
- $19.99 when you pay for 12 months upfront
- View all plans
TorGuard Review
TorGuard is a solid choice if your budget isn’t a primary issue. TorGuard is a well-established, reliable VPN service that boasts 3,000 servers across the globe. Its business plans give you dedicated IP addresses, secure, private email addresses for every user, native applications, advanced security and a dedicated account manager.
TorGuard may not be a cost-efficient option if you have fewer than 10 employees, based on its starter pricing plan. You can only get a dedicated server if you opt for a custom enterprise plan, but this will increase your monthly pricing.
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Pricing
TorGuard offers a 7-day free trial and three business pricing options. You can also create a custom enterprise plan, which includes a dedicated server.
Starter | Small | Medium | |
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Price Per Month | $69 | $110 | $169 |
Number Of Users | 10 | 15 | 20 |
Number Of Email Accounts | 10 | 15 | 20 |
Number Of Dedicated IP Addresses | 3 | 5 | 10 |
Terminology
Don’t understand some of the high-tech VPN lingo we’ve included in our VPN reviews? No worries! We’ve broken down all the need-to-know techie terms below.
- NAT firewall — A NAT (Network Address Translation) Firewall adds an extra layer of security by hiding computers, servers and other IT equipment from outside threats. NAT firewalls are better than your standard OS firewalls at filtering out a lot of potential threats before you get that annoying message: Do you want to allow this connection?
- Kill switch — A VPN kill switch automatically disconnects your internet connection in case the VPN fails, gets interrupted or you forget to enable your VPN. With a kill switch, you’re always ensured a secure VPN connection.
- DNS leak protection — When you go to a website using your browser, it sends a request to a DNS (domain name server) with the URL that you typed in. The DNS server then points you to the correct IP address. ISPs (Internet Service Providers) assign you certain DNS servers, and they can monitor and record your online activities whenever you send a request to the server. But when you use a VPN, your DNS request should direct to an anonymous server, keeping your ISP from monitoring your connection. A DNS leak occurs when your browser inadvertently ignores your VPN connection and sends your DNS request straight to your ISP, all without your knowledge. But some VPNs come with DNS leak protection software that alerts you to that threat.
- Torrent/P2P — Torrenting or peer-to-peer (P2P) involves obtaining files and content using the Bit Torrent protocol. When you download a torrent file, you’re sharing bits of that file with anyone else who’s downloading or sharing that file. And these “peers” can see your IP address. However, if your VPN supports Torrent/P2P, you’re protected.
- Internet Protocol — Internet Protocol (IP) is the method or type of protocol by which data transfers from one computer to another computer via the Internet.
- DPI Prevention: Deep packet inspection (DPI) prevention tools allow your VPN use to be hidden and undetected, even by deep packet inspection and other firewalls that can block VPN use. DPI prevention unblocks 3rd-party app restrictions so you can gain permanent access no matter your location.
VPN Protocols
There are several VPN protocols that secure your data transport over a public network, and each protocol varies in how it keeps your data secure. Here’s a breakdown of the different protocol types.
- IP security (IPSec) uses either tunneling or transport mode to encrypt data traffic in a VPN. The transport mode encrypts only the message within the data packet (also referred to as the payload). Tunneling encrypts the entire data packet. People use IPsec, often called a “security overlay,” as a security layer for other protocols.
- Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) use cryptography to secure data transport over the Internet. SSL and TLS authentification require the same network parameters between remote clients and servers. With SSL and TLS, you need a certified, encrypted key to make a secure connection.
- Point-To-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) uses tunneling to connect a remote client to a private server. PPTP is one of the most popular VPN protocols because its configuration and maintenance are straightforward and because it’s included with Windows. PPTP doesn’t require a key.
- Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is used to tunnel data traffic between two sites. People often use L2TP with IPSec as an added security layer to keep the transfer of L2TP data packets secure. L2TP/IPSec requires a shared key or certificate.
- Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2) is a newer tunneling protocol that becomes a VPN protocol when paired with IPSec. It’s natively supported by Windows 7+, Blackberry, and iOS devices. IKEv2 is ideal for mobile devices because it’s very resilient to changing networks (i.e. moving between hotspots or switching between WiFi and mobile connections). IKEv2 is also good at automatically re-connecting VPN service if you temporarily lose your internet connection.
Personal vs Business VPN – What’s The Difference?
Most of the differences between a personal and business VPN don’t involve changes to the security aspect but rather the number of users, account management features, server types, and privacy protocols that are specifically tailored to businesses. This means you can usually get the same high-quality encrypted connection at a more affordable cost for your personal devices with a personal VPN provider.
Best Service For Remote Desktop Management
Remote access software lets you access your home or office computer from another location and also allows you to grant others access to specified files or programs on your computer. You can even take over the mouse and keyboard of the remote computer you’ve connected to as if you’re sitting in front of that PC. And some software lets you access a remote PC from your mobile device.
Some operating systems have their own built-in remote desktop software, but there are many alternatives that offer better functionality, security, and more features. Check out our comparison of the best remote desktop software to further secure your business communications.
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